BPA? Trades? Rob Brzezinski Interview Hints at Vikings' Draft Approach

This year's NFL draft is a huge one for the Minnesota Vikings. After years of poor drafting under former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, the Vikings desperately need to take advantage of their four top-100 selections in this draft and inject some young talent into their roster.

Leading the way in Minnesota's draft room this month will be interim GM Rob Brzezinski. He's been a fixture in Vikings draft rooms for decades, but this will be his first time as the leader of the front office. Head coach Kevin O'Connell, defensive coordinator Brian Flores, and other coaches and executives will be heavily involved, but the belief is that Brzezinski will have the final say on selections.

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Last week, at the NFL's annual league meeting in Arizona, Brzezinski did an interview with Tatum Everett of Vikings Entertainment Network that may have offered some very slight hints about the team's draft approach under his leadership.

"There's still a ways to go in the process," Brzezinski said. "There's still another three weeks of draft meetings, information is still coming in from pro days. The answers to the test, to some extent are still out there. So we still have to continue to work through our process and get our board stacked objectively so we can make good decisions when we're on the clock. And I think if you do that, you've got a great shot to be successful."

Needs vs. BPA

The big question when it comes to the draft is how a team will balance drafting for its immediate needs versus taking the best player available, regardless of position. Generally speaking, BPA is the better approach. You don't want to pass up on a great player because you have a more significant need at a different position on the roster. Ideally, needs should be addressed in free agency.

Count Brzezinski among those who favors the BPA strategy.

"I think it's the biggest reason why a lot of players fail in this business — and it's not just the player, it's complicit with the club — is you force your need," he said. "And for a lot of reasons, it doesn't work out. You pass on a player of higher ability for a position of need. It puts undue pressure on the player and there's various other factors. It may be old school, but if you get your board set right and you look for the best player available, I think that's going to lead you down the right path."

The Vikings have some clear needs heading into this draft, including defensive tackle, center, and safety. They could also use more depth at running back, wide receiver, and cornerback. But above all else, they need to add good football players to their roster. If that's a tight end or a linebacker or an edge rusher, the coaches can make it work.

Now, a true 100 percent BPA approach isn't exactly realistic. For example, the Vikings drafting a non-center offensive lineman in the first round doesn't make much sense, because there wouldn't be a path to a starting spot for that player. They aren't going to take a quarterback, either. But just about every other position should be on the table.

Trading up or down

NFL teams have a lot to manage during the draft. They have to follow their draft board in terms of the players who might be available when they're on the clock, but they're also working the phones and exploring trade possibilities. Maybe they want to move up to get a player. Maybe they want to move down and accumulate extra draft capital. Each of the Vikings' last two GMs, Adofo-Mensah and Rick Spielman, did quite a bit of that.

Brzezinski, who has worked the phones in previous draft rooms, will undoubtedly be open to moving around the board if the value is there. But he seems to be more focused on the picks themselves.

"There are some things we've talked about internally about how we're going to navigate that," he said. "I think number one is you want to get your picks right. And then, kind of next level is you can maneuver around the board a little bit and pick up some extra capital here or there, and we have some guardrails as far as how we want to do that. But we're focused on making sure we get our picks right."

Maybe it's not worth reading anything into that quote, but that sounds a bit like a guy who will be more focused on making the picks the Vikings have (18, 49, 82, 97, etc.) than looking to trade up or down.